1. Field of the Invention
Of particular concern in dairy herds is inflammation of the mammary gland referred to as mastitis. Mastitis results in inflammation, which in acute mastitis results in swelling, redness, heat, pain and loss of function. The majority of occurrences of mastitis are bacterial in origin.
The use of antibiotics has been highly successful in curing and reducing the incidence of mastitis. However, the use of antibiotics has many disadvantages. While antibiotics have been capable of controlling the incidence of mastitis resulting from Staphylococci and Streptococci infection, the result has been that the effectiveness of the natural protective resistance to other bacterial organisms such as coliform has been diminished. That is, apparently when the immunological system of resistance was stressed by either Staphylococci or Streptococci, this system was able to counteract invasion from other organisms. When antibiotics are employed which destroy the aforementioned organisms, the mammary gland becomes susceptible to infection from other organisms which are antibiotic resistant.
It is therefore desirable to find ways to induce this immunological and resistance system to protect the host from bacterial invasion.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Sagiroglu, N., Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Intrauterine Contraception, 465-468 (1975) suggests the production of macrophages as a result of introduction of an intrauterine foreign body. Jensen and Eberhart, Am. J. Vet. Res. 36, 619 (1975) teach that vacuolated mononuclear cells found in milk during lactation may be macrophages. Alexander Annual Review of Medicine 27:207-224 (1976) teaches that a synthetic pyran copolymer initiates production and activation of macrophages by stimulating the reticuloendothelial system.